There is Always a Price
by sassy-outlaw
Summary: Pre-Outlaw Queen one-shot! Robin notices that Regina relies heavily on her magic and decides to do something about it.


**Hey, hi, hello. This is my first fic. Ever. And I'm slightly terrified in posting this but at the same time, I'm excited because I've had this idea in my head for a long time now. I hope you all like it as much as I did.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUaT or any of its characters.**

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**There is Always a Price**

Magic. It was something Robin had noticed about the former queen in the small amount of time they have spent in the other's company. Magic appeared to be her solution to everything.

That little fact was what prompted him to approach her one morning before even half of their camp was up and about.

"Good morning, your majesty," he whispered as he came around the tree she was leaning up against.

Regina glared at him as best she could in her still groggy state and answered with a noncommittal grunt. Her gaze quickly shifted to suspicious when she saw a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Robin chuckled before he turned and began walking away calling out for her to follow him over his shoulder.

"What do you want Robin?" Regina all but whined after him.

"You'll never find out if you don't follow me," He called back knowing full well that she would follow.

After a fair amount of grumbling and complaining on her part, Regina had managed to catch up to Robin only to see that he had stopped at a small clearing. He turned around to face her and held out his hand to show her that he was gripping the blade of a small knife between his thumb and index finger. Without warning, he quickly spun and flung the knife in the opposite direction. Regina watched as the knife tumbled through the air before it firmly embedded itself into a tree nearly 15 feet away.

When Robin turned back to her, he had a boyish grin on his face which quickly faded to a more serious expression when he heard Regina mockingly ask, "You made me skip breakfast and trek out to the middle of the forest so I could watch you throw knives?"

"No. Not watch, your majesty." He pulled another lightweight knife from his belt and offered it to her. "You're going to learn."

Regina raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Why on earth would I need to do that?"

"For protection," Robin shrugged.

"Ha. Believe me, dear, magic is a far more suitable and more efficient form –"

"But that's just it, Regina!" Robin interrupted her. "Magic is your solution to everything."

"Yes, but it works," she answered. "I don't see how that is such a bad thing."

"Regina…" Robin took a few steps towards her so that they were now within arms' reach of each other. "Magic always comes with a price and –"

"You think I don't realize that?" She snapped at him. "Believe me, thief, I have already paid the price. I have lost _everything_. My father, my fiancé... _My son." _Regina choked out a sob at the mention of Henry. Why now? It had been just over a month since she arrived back to this forsaken land with the rest of the Storybrooke crew. She had only recently learned how to manage the pain of losing Henry a few days ago. Now the wound was ripped open and once again, the overwhelming sorrow was making her regret listening to Snow on that first day back. _There's nothing left for you to lose._ She thought. _You have no one._

"Regina…" Robin tried to pull her out of her thoughts by gently placing his hand on her arm. "Magic is not the answer. Not when you have a whole future ahead of you that could be taken away because of it." He let his arm drop and took a step back. "There is always a price to pay," he stated grimly.

Regina looked up at him, curious after hearing his tone. "You sound as though you speak from experience." It was more of a statement than a question. Of course he had experience with it, she thought. Why else would he care so much?

She watched as Robin's face transformed into a mask that was much like the one she had learned to wear during her early years of marriage to the king. One that concealed every emotion and prevented outsiders from witnessing the turmoil the wearer was truly facing.

"Just throw the damn knife, Regina." He said as he offered it to her once more.

Robin spent the next few hours teaching Regina several techniques. He taught her the best way to hold the blade for the type of throw she wanted to make. He taught her how to make quick throws with lighter knives and how to aim accurately with the heavier ones.

The first time she got the knife to stick in the tree, it had ended up landing not even two feet above the ground. Robin had applauded her for that while simultaneously shaking his head and laughing at how much more work needed to be done. Regina proved to be a fast learner, though. By the end of that morning, Regina was able to throw three knives in quick succession with each blade burying itself into the tree at about chest height – deadly accuracy. Pleased with the results they had gotten from the lesson, Robin announced that they should head back to camp.

As they walked, the two had settled into a tense silence. Several times, Regina could hear Robin take in a breath like he was about to say something only for no words to come. After several failed attempts, Robin finally managed to speak up.

"It was my wife," he told her in a low voice.

Regina was taken aback by this and Robin must have noticed as he then clarified, "She was pregnant with Roland when she fell ill. We had tried everything to cure her and yet nothing worked. I was desperate so I stole a fairy's wand in the hopes that magic could be the cure." Regina remained silent as he paused for a few seconds before he continued. "It worked. At least we thought it did. She seemed completely healthy for the last couple of months but she was taken from Roland and I not but a few minutes after he was born. So you were right, I do have experience with the price of magic."

"Robin, I already told you, I have nothing left to lose."

Robin stopped walking and stepped in front of her, all but forcing her to look at him as he spoke. "You don't know that," he told Regina firmly. "You don't know what the future holds for you. And you may never find out if you continue using your magic so freely."

Regina sighed as Robin turned away and started back towards their camp again. Truthfully, she could see where he was coming from and his reasoning was honorable. But to Regina, magic was what she knew. To her, magic was safe. _But is it really?_ She thought as his words played over and over in her head.

She shook herself out of her thoughts as she picked up her pace to catch up with Robin.

"Thank you," she said timidly before continuing with her usual snark, "Though I don't know how much good that lesson alone will do since I hardly expect my target to be standing still."

He rolled his eyes as he looked over to her, "I'm sorry, would you prefer moving target practice?"

Her only response was a shrug of her shoulder along with her classic smirk. They had finally arrived back to their camp as he laughed and answered, "I'll see how many volunteers I can round up, your majesty."


End file.
